Be clear when data are needed to inform key decisions.

The mon­i­tor­ing and eval­u­a­tion plan should clear­ly artic­u­late the ques­tions that should be answered through the mon­i­tor­ing and eval­u­a­tion activ­i­ties. Iden­ti­fy the deci­sions or actions you want to influ­ence. This defines the realm of issues that you want to affect, for which you need to devel­op mea­sures. Then iden­ti­fy the infor­ma­tion that you will need to inform those deci­sions or actions and assess impact. This is what deter­mines what you want to mon­i­tor and why.